Fall Craft For the Porch...

 I attended a Ladies' Craft Session at a recent church event.   

These Fall Tags were on the agenda....

The boards were precut for us into tag shapes.  I added a wash of white.

Then we simply stenciled and painted the words and leaves...

 I must confess - filling in those letters with a paint brush 
gave me the heeby jeebies. 

I much prefer to use a Sharpie!  

But somehow I managed not to make too much of a mess.

Little tip for colored areas - such as these leaves:

Outline the stencil first with a marker - fill in with paint - 

then retrace the edges with the marker to sharpen things up.

I'm liking them on the porch of our summer cottage. 

 I also added a few 3/$1 gourds to my side table. 

 It's fun to give some seasonal cheer to passersby.  

And a little goes a long way.

Happy Fall Friends!  ~Joyce

Pumpkin Shopping & Porch Decor....

I'm a little behind with fall decorating - so today I visited a friend's

 pumpkin stand to see what I can find.

The stand - on their family farm - was adorable with piles of fun pumpkins...

...  all in different price ranges... 

Just look how orderly the smaller pumpkins and corn are displayed

 on a hay wagon...

Loved the fence and line-up of mums...

 The farm house is great old gray stone - and the purple just pops in contrast.

Back at home - I used a few of the Cinderalla pumpkins on my porch.

  

The corn stalks are my own - from a crop that never developed.

At least I am getting some benefit from them...

Can't quite part with my sunflowers yet - 
so I'll let them dry on my porch rocker for a while...

And so the Fall season has officially begun for me.  

Next is indoor decorating and maybe more porch decor after 
I take  my house plants inside.  
But then again - if it doesn't happen - it won't be the end of the world.

Spring Outdoor Things...

Signs of spring are popping up everywhere.  

Allow me to share a few sightings from our afternoon walk.

This simple daffodil door swag...

 

... perfectly adorned these church doors in duo...

It's a tad early for most people when it comes to

 decorating their porches - but this cottage owner is on it... 

Have an old gas can?  What a sweet bird house...

And of course - the crocuses are in full swing...

Spring - and New Life...what joy!  

I trust you had a blessed Easter Day and spent some

 time celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord. 

He is worthy of all our Praise! ~ Joyce

Winter Front Porch...

With just a very few minor adjustments - 

my front porch easily went from Christmas to Winter this year.

 

I simply removed the wrapped package, replaced the ornament 

with a grapevine ball, repositioned some things... 

 

 and wa-la - we have Winter...

I also added my bargain Valentine wreath to the front door.

I'm keeping the twinkly lights at night.  

To see the rest of the porch - visit this post.

My Christmas Touches - Part 2 (The Porch)....

My Christmas porch this year...

 

...is simply a makeover of my Fall Porch.   

See if you can find all of the elements that stayed in place.

The milk can is stuffed with fresh greens from my Thanksgiving Day 

'greens hunt'.   Real pinecones dangling from plain ol' string give it some fullness.

 

  Do you remember the red barn wood I picked up for almost free?

One piece now shouts the reason for this season in our home (no Santa here...)

The iron lantern and jar will be a candle luminary for 

any guests scheduled to arrive.

The little red wagon now sports ice skates and presents.  

A little secret:  I've been using this same present outdoors 

for probably 8 or more years!  Shameful I know. 

Some day I'll get around to making new ones.  

(It's also dirty!  Thankfully that is not real evident from the road or in these photos!)

 I love giant pinecones and I pick them up when I see them at thrift shops.  

More fresh greens fill my black planter.

 There you have it.  Part 3 and maybe 4 still to come.

Quilted Nest Christmas Part 1
Quilted Nest Christmas Part 3

Favorite Find and Project...

 Sharing two of my favorite things from this week.

  First -  our recently done front porch now has a 

new brick path leading from it...
(There is one more to replace as you can see heading to the rail fence)

And look at these cuteys I picked up for $1 each 

and nicer than what's out there this year...

Happy Birds...

and Happy Boots!

 

Anything fun from your week?

Warehouse House...

Today I went on a local Fall House Tour.  My favorite dwelling 

was actually an old Tobacco Warehouse...

 Inside was this massive open space with a loft hallway...

...big dining area...

  

...and a neat DIY kitchen space.  

The lower cabinets are IKEA door fronts attached to other cabinets.  

The back splash is actually roof slate - cut to resemble 

bricks and painted and grouted in black.  (love this!)

That tin star sculpture (from a welding class) shades the sink light.

The huge opposing kitchen wall is done in chalkboard paint.  Fun!

In talking with the homeowner - I learned a bit more about this makeover project.  

They had recently lost their business and quite a bit of money but happened to own this old building.  

With no where else to call home - they moved in.  

Renovating is happening on a shoestring as they are able.  (Some parts still have dirt floors!)  

Her story of how God has provided for them along the way just melted my heart.

We need to keep holding on to Him - He's got it under control!

This was a very old stone home also on the tour.

(We're talking Williamsburg style and era)...

 

And this log cabin owner always does her porch to the hilt...

My partner (niece actually) for the day.

 We picked a really bad place to do a selfie - but here we are - 

enjoying an organ concert in an old church balcony...

Had to get a shot of the German street dancers too.

  Goodness I love this area I live in. 

After 'wasting' my day - I hope to be more productive this evening.  

I'm actually working on this...

What did you today?

Friday Freebies...

It was a day of freebies for me.  Let me show you.

  First up - no more buying or scrounging cornstalks for fall decorating.  

Turns out my zebra grass - in its dried state - works just fine.  

Noted:  'Free!'...

My little fall wreath is also a 'free' project - simply made

 with a few faux stems and grapevine wreath I had on hand...

Then... I stopped with my niece who sells cut flowers.  

She gave me 2 bouquets that are past their prime for selling...

 

... but still have a few days left in them...

Plus they have some great stems for drying.  Yay!

Lastly - there was a 'free pile' down the road.  I rescued a purse and basket.  

I'm looking forward to filling the basket with muffins, etc. for a gift. 

Did you have any freebies in your day?

I'd love to hear about them.... ~Joyce